Monday, April 27, 2015

A new beginning

Hear Ye, Hear Ye, all that have been following the travels of Iris and I, that chapter is coming to an end as we know it. Iris's retirement has come to fruition and will be in effect starting on 18 May 2015. This day is a sad yet joyous day for me because she has done so much to give back a life that honestly I had given up on. The past 4 years with Iris has opened so many new avenues for me that I have come alive and truly look forward to living again.

Iris will continue to be part of my life and my families life here at home. She may retire from being on the road with me but she will continue to rule the house as the queen bee shall we say here at Phyfe central. Her life of leisure will allow her to rest up instead of suiting up every time I decide I am going to head out somewhere. She will no longer have to jump up into the truck or camper on a regular basis. She will however continue to travel with us as a family when we go to places that allow pets. I am sure that her bond with me will continue to hold true but she will also be happy to spend time with the other members of the family instead of chasing me around the house.

For me there is a bittersweet moment to look forward to knowing that I will be meeting another wonderful friend but that moment I drive off on the 18th without Iris will be such an odd feeling. Together we have traveled all over this country and experienced all sorts of new life changing things together. Iris has helped me focus in on my mission in life which I now understand is to help other veterans who may be struggling with where they fit in this wonderful land of ours. We all have our own demons to deal with when leaving the military whether a Combat Vet with visible wounds or a Peacetime Vet with no wounds at all we all served and had to find a way to transition back into civilian society.

So since Iris became a talking point and allowed so many people to approach me through her I was able to focus and for that I will be forever grateful. I mention this part of Iris's helping me because most people have heard about how she has saved my life with her helping with the seizures and the button. The fact that the doctors were able to get my meds right thanks to her giving me a new lease on life also. So many different things that she has done. Now with her retirement she opens a new door allowing me to move on and continue this wonderful mission. As I sit here writing and she lays on the couch sound asleep wrapped in a blanket so peacefully I cannot help but look forward to allowing her to rest up.

So our new beginning is here. Our last trip is in two weeks when we fly out to Montana for 2 days to visit with friends and talk about how wonderful these and other animals are at healing both the boys and minds of our soldiers. I can not thank America's VetDogs enough for everything that they have done over the past 4 years in watching out for both Iris and I making sure that we have always been cared for. That Iris's best interest is always paramount even when I may not see it. When they approached me last year and told me that Iris was nearing her time to look at retirement I did not see it. It was a hard time to go through but they were there to help point out the little changes that I was to close to see.

So look forward to the many pictures of the retirement and new dog pictures that I am sure will be flooding in.

1 comment:

I always tell people that Iris saved your life. She's an amazing little being. Give her a pat on the head for me. I look forward to running into you someday with your new sidekick. My love to you and your family-including Iris.